Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Even Severed from the Body, a Human Head Can Live for a While
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“How many times has it been now?”
The principal's question had barely ended when I had to fire my brain into overdrive at 100% capacity.
The principal knows about my regressions. Or maybe this is just a probe to test me. Both possibilities exist.
Of course, the higher probability lies with the former.
This is a world where registering abilities is mandatory.
Ivy Lane's ability—regression—is already logged in the database under the name Memento Mori.
It'd be more comforting to assume the government, or those with deep ties to it, already knows all about me.
In other words, honesty is the best policy.
Now, shift perspectives, move to the next point.
What exactly is the principal referring to with "how many times"?
I could dismiss it as nonsense, but truthfully, I have no idea how many times Ivy Lane has regressed over her entire life.
From the start, the other side has known—or at least kept tabs on—this person named Ivy Lane even before her academy enrollment.
Can I fool them convincingly?
If I save a checkpoint right now, even when I open my eyes again, I'll just be back in this room.
If I die, it'd be easier to handle by reverting to yesterday's checkpoint.
‘Does my opponent have any way to detect my regressions?’
Based on Chapter 1 of the main story—the one I experienced—there's no sign of it.
The principal spoke again.
“Let me rephrase the question properly. It must have been hard to answer.”
His white hair sparkled in the sunlight, dazzling my eyes. The principal's gaze fixed on me without a flicker.
Blue eyes.
They almost made me feel hazy.
“Since enrolling in the academy, how many times have you regressed?”
“...Three times.”
“What do you suspect the identity of the intruder who breached academy security to be?”
“They seemed to be trying to recruit me.”
The principal's eyebrow twitched.
“Recruit you. In what way?”
“They tried injecting me with a drug, but it doesn't reset even after regression. It feels like it contaminated my memories rather than my brain or body...”
“And now?”
“I'm poisoned, sure, but I can handle it. Just mild hallucinations or auditory ones at worst...”
Hm.
The principal observed me.
“If you say you're fine, I'll believe you for now, Cadet Ivy Lane.”
“Yes.”
“You are the bulwark against humanity's extinction.”
Sudden words like that... I had no idea how to play along.
The principal continued.
As if my response had never mattered from the start.
“It's not public knowledge, but humanity is currently walking a tightrope.”
“Pardon?”
I couldn't quite grasp what he meant.
“The number of ability users is limited, their consumption is extreme, and exchanges or diplomacy are restricted. All the undersea cables are gone. The satellites in orbit have been operating far beyond their lifespan for decades now. They could start plummeting one by one at any moment.”
A realistic picture.
Stories I never knew because the game progressed from the protagonist's viewpoint.
The principal spoke to me with a grave expression.
“You've sustained humanity through countless repeated deaths so far.”
“......”
“Even if others can glimpse the future, it's only extremely limited glimpses—nothing like you.”
“True.”
“So, please... keep it up. We're on the verge of a breakthrough regarding the monsters' purpose...”
He took my hand.
It was thick.
Unpleasant.
I couldn't pinpoint why.
“A breakthrough?”
“It's a recent research topic. Top secret, so I can't say everything, but if we use it right, we might weaken them all at once.”
“...That sounds good.”
“I'm always so sorry toward you.”
It was sincere.
I could feel it from his expression and demeanor.
He was a good person who genuinely cared for others—unlike the scum who raised me.
Yet, despite that, an inexplicable disgust lingered.
Why did Ivy Lane—and I—dislike this man?
I asked.
“...But why are you here?”
“I came to check something briefly.”
“Pardon?”
“Can you designate a checkpoint right now?”
“No reason I couldn't...”
“Then, please do so.”
A bad feeling stopped me from setting the checkpoint.
Anyway, my daily routine includes setting one every morning, so even if I died now, I'd just wake up this morning.
The principal asked.
“Done?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
Or tried to.
My torso entered my field of vision.
My mind filled with questions.
The principal had killed an academy cadet.
The reason was unknown.
A person's head can remain alive for a while even after being severed from the body.
I fought to maintain consciousness as long as possible.
My vision faded bit by bit.
It hurts.
Hurts.
Hot.
Blood sprayed like a fountain. A red mist filled the room.
The severed stump was being cauterized.
I had a mouth but couldn't scream.
No lungs meant no breath.
I began experiencing these obvious facts one by one with my own body.
I saw the principal's shoes.
They gleamed.
Black leather.
My cognition plummeted sharply.
He looked down at me with impassive eyes.
Tick.
The clock hands wound backward.
My brain cooled.
It grew darker.
I didn't want to die.
Tears flowed.
“Gasp! Ack! Kek...! Aaaah!”
I rolled off the bed with a scream.
The blankets tangled around me.
I hit the floor and frantically groped my neck like a madman.
It's there.
Was it severed?
It fell off.
No, it's attached.
No blood spraying.
Smooth skin, pulse beating.
I calmed down.
This was different from when that hooded woman in the alley slit my throat.
A death you brace for, prepared and resolved to accept, is worlds apart from one that hits out of nowhere.
There had been pain.
The blade tearing through skin, severing muscle, snapping vertebrae.
I first realized then how tough a human neck really is.
A clean cut by ability felt like nothing, but sliced by a knife? That's when death terrified me.
Now for one question.
Why did the principal make me set a checkpoint, then kill me?
A test.
‘Not fully convinced my regression still works properly? Or was my death a necessary step?’
It didn't make sense.
He had no reason to kill me.
‘And it's too sloppy. Inducing a checkpoint so blatantly against a regressor? How did he even know about checkpoints? Didn't he consider I might be lying about setting one? If I were him, I'd have chosen a more thorough method.’
This felt like he was deliberately letting me go.
Intentionally warning me of something?
If I'm truly the switch saving humanity from extinction as he described, he shouldn't kill me at all.
Regression isn't an infinite resource.
What if my mind wears down, or I start refusing to regress?
Wait.
What?
A chilling thought hit me.
In the principal's eyes, who am I?
If this person called me turns against humanity, can they fight back?
What if he locks me in endless deaths until my mind fully erodes? Then he could use me like a tool.
A regression switch triggered by electric shocks, say.
Whew.
I took a deep breath.
Let's sort this out.
The principal is genuinely devoted to humanity and has thwarted extinction multiple times alongside Ivy Lane.
Yet for some reason, he mentioned a potential way to weaken all monsters at once.
Additionally, he tried to kill Ivy Lane—by trapping her in infinite deaths to wear her down.
But that might not be his real intent.
Killing a regressor requires far more meticulous preparation.
If he truly meant to kill me—if he wanted to control or halt my regressions—he'd have used a different method.
‘Too sloppy by half. Trying to catch a regressor with this amateur hour? When it might turn her into an enemy?’
Overthink it, and everything might connect.
Is Ivy Lane's mental death linked to weakening the monsters?
‘That doesn't add up.’
Monsters, as far as I know, are enigmatic natural disasters that appeared long before ability users.
By the lore, there's zero connection between Ivy Lane and the monsters.
‘Focus on what I can do now.’
Not enough clues yet.
The fact remains: the principal will visit my room tonight and try to kill me.
I need someone to protect me from him—someone with a room or house.
‘Han Ye-seo.’
She was the first who came to mind.
The police?
The academy principal plans to break into my room tonight—could you protect me?
Perfect line to get slapped with a psych eval.
What about Ja-an?
Am I crazy enough to share a room with a guy? Think straight, please.
Plus, Ja-an's ability shows untaken paths—choices.
Great for combat, sure, but a month after enrollment, it's no top-tier power.
The protagonist's ingenuity, buffs, and raw specs barely cover for it.
Against a strong foe in a confined space? Han Ye-seo's ability is clearly superior.
For escape, at least, it's better than the protagonist's.
Forcing low-probability choices to succeed via luck?
Has limits.
Protagonist buffs aren't omnipotent.
I stood up.
Decision made.
.
.
.
After classes ended, as everyone headed back to their dorms.
I approached Han Ye-seo right away.
“Can I crash at your place tonight?”
“...Huh? Me?”
Her eyes flicked toward Ja-an.
A look asking why she was the one getting this proposal, not him.
And moments later.
Han Ye-seo's eyes sparkled as if she'd realized something, and she spoke up.
“You two both come over?”
...Not quite.
But actually, not bad.